Page 58 of Anytime I Want

Julia raises her hands to her chest before spreading them wide at the end of the song, hitting the last note hard and letting it gently fade away. The room is completely silent for a few seconds, and she cracks one eye open. The applause is deafening. My dad is yelling as loud as only a Hawaiian man can. I am on my feet pumping my fist in the air and cheering so loud, my throat hurts. Chloe is jumping up and down, hugging everyone near her, and everyone else is clapping and yelling. There will be a lot of sore throats at Cactus Hills tonight, and I’m pretty sure my voice will be gone tomorrow, but watching Julia take it all in, her face glowing, makes it all worth it.

Chapter 31

Julia

Nathan and my parents jump on the stage, smothering me in a group hug.

“J! I am so proud of you!” Nathan yells in my ear.

Everyone is acting as if this is Madison Square Garden, not the activity room at the Cactus Hills fifty-five plus community, but I love it.

After a few minutes of celebrating with my family, I see Graham standing back, patiently waiting for his turn. He islaughing with Josie and Chloe, and I take a second to watch him.I couldn’t have done this without him.

“Earth to Julia.” Chloe waves her hand in my face. I hadn’t even noticed her walking toward me. “I already told Graham, but we get you tonight. Me, you, and Josie are going to get ice cream and watch chick flicks. Say goodbye to your man; you can see him tomorrow.” She pushes me toward Graham, and it’s all the prompting I need. I jump into his arms, and he lifts me up and spins me around.

“You were amazing,” he whispers in my ear before planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Thank you. It was because of you. You saved me. Thank you.” I kiss him hard, and it takes him a second to respond.

“Ew. Enough,” Nathan says. “Graham, let’s go. I want to get burgers first.”

Graham gives me one more quick kiss before setting me down and walking toward Nathan. “Tomorrow. You and me, all day.” Graham points at me and I feel my face flush.

“All day,” I agree.

“Another toothache. Man alive,” Chloe says, holding her cheeks. “Let’s go.” She links her arms through mine and Josie’s, pulling us to the parking lot. “Bye, ‘rents.” Chloe waves over her shoulder.

“Rents?” Josie asks, confused.

“Yeah, ‘rents. Like parents. I heard it in a show.” Chloe keeps explaining early 2000s slang to Josie as I look around, trying to find Mabel.

“Hey, did any of you see Mabel?”

“Nope, I didn’t. Maybe she had to watch at home?” Josie shrugs.

“Why? I saw her yesterday, and she was fine. She told me she’d see me at the performance, but she didn’t want to make me morenervous with last-minute tips so she was going to talk to me after the show. Can we go check out her house before we leave?”

“Josie, do you care? Your car.”

“No problem.” Josie shrugs. “It’ll take a while. This show was packed, but we can make our way over there.”

I check the line of cars in the parking lot, my eyes blinded by all the brake lights. “Maybe I’ll walk. Why don’t you go to the car and meet me there?”

“It’s all the way across the community. Are you sure?” Chloe asks. “It’s dark, and there are a lot of cars.”

“Yeah, it’ll be faster. I’ll be careful. I just want to say hi and thank you.” I head toward Mabel’s house, dodging cars and people, trying to stay on the sidewalk as much as possible. A shuttle bus is driving slowly through the community, letting people off one or two at a time in front of each house, making it impossible to use the street to pass people on the sidewalk.

It takes a while, but I eventually make it to Mabel’s house. The light over the front door is off, but I can see the kitchen light through the front window. I can hear the faint scratch of her record player, the sound it makes when the record is over, but no one stops it. I knock before trying to let myself in. Her door is locked. I yell her name, starting to feel worried. I don’t hear any response, and I pull out my phone, immediately pulling up Graham’s contact information.

But what is he going to do? He is probably stuck in that traffic jam leaving the neighborhood. I turn on my flashlight and start looking for a hidden key. There are a few fake rocks, but they are all empty. I run my hand over the top of the door frame but again, no luck. I head around the side of the house, trying to find something that could be hiding a key. I’m not even sure she has a hide-a-key but I don’t know what else to do. I end up back at the front door, still no key, and my eyes catch on a small sign above the doorbell. It’s maybe four-by-four inches and half-aninch deep. It used to be white with a few black music notes on it, with the words Sing Out Loud underneath. I try to grab it off the wall, but it won’t come. I tug a few times before my phone starts to vibrate. I see Chloe’s name flash on the screen.

“Hey! Where are you?” I ask.

“Hey girl, sorry. We are stuck behind the shuttle bus, and it’s driving down the middle of the road so they can drop people off on either side.”

“She isn’t answering her door. I can hear her record player; she left it on. I need to get inside.” I can hear the panic in my voice, and that just makes me panic more.

“Julia, it’s okay. Josie is going to let me out. I’m coming.” I hear the car door open and Chloe starts running. “Stay on the line. I’m almost there.”

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